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5 And Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents, 6 so that (A)the land could not support both of them dwelling together; for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together, 7 (B)and there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen of Lot's livestock. At that time (C)the Canaanites and the Perizzites were dwelling in the land.
8 Then Abram said to Lot, (D)“Let there be no strife between you and me, and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, (E)for we are kinsmen.[a] 9 (F)Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right, or if you take the right hand, then I will go to the left.” 10 And Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the (G)Jordan Valley was well watered everywhere like (H)the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, in the direction of (I)Zoar. (This was before the Lord (J)destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) 11 So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley, and Lot journeyed east. Thus they separated from each other. 12 Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom. 13 Now the men of Sodom (K)were wicked, great sinners against the Lord.
14 The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, (L)northward and southward and eastward and westward, 15 for all the land that you see I will give (M)to you and (N)to your offspring forever. 16 (O)I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted. 17 Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you.” 18 So Abram moved his tent and came and (P)settled by the (Q)oaks[b] of Mamre, which (R)are at Hebron, and there he built an altar to the Lord.
Abram Rescues Lot
14 In the days of Amraphel king of (S)Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of (T)Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim, 2 these kings made war with (U)Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of (V)Admah, Shemeber king of (W)Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). 3 And all these joined forces in the Valley of Siddim ((X)that is, the Salt Sea). 4 Twelve years they had served Chedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled. 5 In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him came and defeated the (Y)Rephaim in (Z)Ashteroth-karnaim, the (AA)Zuzim in Ham, the (AB)Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim, 6 and the (AC)Horites in their hill country of Seir as far as (AD)El-paran on the border of the wilderness. 7 Then they turned back and came to En-mishpat (that is, (AE)Kadesh) and defeated all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who were dwelling (AF)in Hazazon-tamar.
8 Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out, and they joined battle in the Valley of Siddim 9 with Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goiim, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar, four kings against five. 10 Now the Valley of Siddim was full of (AG)bitumen pits, and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some fell into them, and the rest fled (AH)to the hill country. 11 So the enemy took (AI)all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way. 12 They also took Lot, (AJ)the son of Abram's brother, (AK)who was dwelling in Sodom, and his possessions, and went their way.
13 Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, (AL)who was living by the (AM)oaks[c] of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and of Aner. These were allies of Abram. 14 When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, (AN)born in his house, 318 of them, and went in pursuit as far as (AO)Dan. 15 And he divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and defeated them and pursued them to Hobah, north of Damascus. 16 Then he brought back all the possessions, and also brought back his kinsman Lot (AP)with his possessions, and the women and the people.
Abram Blessed by Melchizedek
17 After his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the (AQ)King's Valley). 18 And (AR)Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was (AS)priest of (AT)God Most High.) 19 And he blessed him and said,
(AU)“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
(AV)Possessor[d] of heaven and earth;
20 and blessed be God Most High,
who has delivered your enemies into your hand!”
And Abram gave him (AW)a tenth of everything. 21 And the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself.” 22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, (AX)“I have lifted my hand[e] to the Lord, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth, 23 that (AY)I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’ 24 I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me. Let (AZ)Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre take their share.”
God's Covenant with Abram
15 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: (BA)“Fear not, Abram, I am (BB)your shield; your reward shall be very great.” 2 But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue[f] childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and (BC)a member of my household will be my heir.” 4 And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; (BD)your very own son[g] shall be your heir.” 5 And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and (BE)number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, (BF)“So shall your offspring be.” 6 And (BG)he believed the Lord, and (BH)he counted it to him as righteousness.
7 And he said to him, “I am the Lord who (BI)brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans (BJ)to give you this land to possess.” 8 But he said, “O Lord God, (BK)how am I to know that I shall possess it?” 9 He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” 10 And he brought him all these, (BL)cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But (BM)he did not cut the birds in half. 11 And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.
12 As the sun was going down, a (BN)deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him. 13 Then the Lord said to Abram, “Know for certain (BO)that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and (BP)they will be afflicted for (BQ)four hundred years. 14 But (BR)I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward (BS)they shall come out with great possessions. 15 As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; (BT)you shall be buried in a good old age. 16 And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for (BU)the iniquity of the Amorites (BV)is not yet complete.”
17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, (BW)“To your offspring I give[h] this land, from (BX)the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, 19 the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, 20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, 21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites.”
Lust
27 (A)“You have heard that it was said, (B)‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that (C)everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 (D)If your right eye (E)causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into (F)hell. 30 (G)And if your right hand (H)causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into (I)hell.
Divorce
31 (J)“It was also said, (K)‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 (L)But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and (M)whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Oaths
33 “Again (N)you have heard that it was said to those of old, (O)‘You shall not swear falsely, but (P)shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ 34 But I say to you, (Q)Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for (R)it is the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is (S)the city of the great King. 36 And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; (T)anything more than this comes from evil.[a]
Retaliation
38 (U)“You have heard that it was said, (V)‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say to you, (W)Do not resist the one who is evil. But (X)if anyone (Y)slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And (Z)if anyone would sue you and take your tunic,[b] let him have your cloak as well. 41 And if anyone (AA)forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42 (AB)Give to the one who begs from you, and (AC)do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.
Love Your Enemies
43 (AD)“You have heard that it was said, (AE)‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, (AF)Love your enemies and (AG)pray for those who persecute you, 45 (AH)so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and (AI)sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 (AJ)For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers,[c] what more are you doing than others? Do not even (AK)the Gentiles do the same? 48 (AL)You therefore must be (AM)perfect, (AN)as your heavenly Father is perfect.
O Lord, Deliver My Life
To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments; according to (A)The Sheminith.[a] A Psalm of David.
6 O Lord, (B)rebuke me not in your anger,
nor (C)discipline me in your wrath.
2 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing;
(D)heal me, O Lord, (E)for my bones are troubled.
3 My (F)soul also is greatly troubled.
But you, O Lord—(G)how long?
4 Turn, O Lord, deliver my life;
save me for the sake of your steadfast love.
5 For in (H)death there is no remembrance of you;
in Sheol who will give you praise?
29 Because they (A)hated knowledge
and (B)did not choose the fear of the Lord,
30 (C)would have none of my counsel
and (D)despised all my reproof,
31 therefore they shall eat (E)the fruit of their way,
and have (F)their fill of their own devices.
32 For the simple are killed by (G)their turning away,
and (H)the complacency of fools destroys them;
33 but (I)whoever listens to me will dwell secure
and will be (J)at ease, without dread of disaster.”
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.